On Her Knees by Aditi Prasad

Summary: On Her Knees is a story narrated by Victor, a son who attends college to study law, and his mother who is a cleaner on about the last clean of the house of a lady who had accused the mother Carol Lang of stealing a pair of silver earrings. The story ends with the pair finding the earrings hidden between some silvery chocolate wrappers. As it turns out the earrings were not very precious or valuable and was an hyperbolic excuse by the homeowner to fire Carol and attempt to chip down her hourly rate.

Points	Analysis and explanation	Evidence
Characters- OverviewCarol LangVictor Lang	Carol Lang is an independent, divorced, honest and hard working lady whom tirelessly works as a house cleaner in wealthy, high socioeconomic homes to support her son through law school.Victor Lang is the cynical, suspicious, clever and loyal son of Carol Lang. Throughout the story he is very loyal to his mother and is a very proud person. He cannot accept the injustice against his mother.
ThemesPride Dignity Independence Honesty Struggle Class Revenge Injustice	Pride is shown in many ways-Victor’s mother is a proud and dignified woman. Despite the fact that she is forced to clean other people’s houses in order to make a living she never allows this to get the better of her and takes pride in her work, especially her standard of conduct. She took pride in the quality of her work and despite cleaning other people’s floors she maintained a dignity and a high standard for herself. This is done by Winton to heighten our respect for the mother and in turn heighten the feeling of unjustness and anger when she is helpless to prove her honour due to class gap, as she is simply doing the best she can.-Carol is prideful that he can support her son independently without him having to work, allowing him to focus on his studies. –PERSONAL PRIDE is importantly highlighted in the last few dialogues of the story, as it arouses happiness at Carol’s ability to persevere and maintain her sense of self-pride and dignity. Despite being wronged and faulted towards.  Struggle is portrayed by the obstacles the Lang’s had to face. Though they’ve “had a grim few years”in  life they remain undefeated. -Despite having a “come-down” from her last job she ensures that her son does not suffer academically due to their financial instability, this highlights the immense struggle he has gone through to provide her son the best of opportunities. This raises the respect and sympathy for her in the readers eyes. Additionally so as she had succeeded to send him to law school whims rich students house she happens to clean in!- Carol has suffered her a divorce and was forced into becoming a breadmaker of her little family after her husband left her,althoughwhile burdening them with a debt. Her constant perseverance through the many hurdles in her life arouses admiration and respect from readers, especially in the conclusion of the story serves to heighten thefeelings of injustice done to such a noble soul. Carol is a dignified woman despite her work occupation.-She is not ashamed of her work and does not bow down to the pressure of “slob(by) householders” who tried to exploit her and “extort more work for their money”. This shows readers he know her worth and thus we see her as a strong, persevering and honourable character. -Her dignity is also portrayed by her precise driving. She is rule-abiding and very “precise” as if given no one a doubt or a reason to criticize her in any way.  -Her honest and reliable character as a worker is highlighted by the fact that she has only ever been fired from a job once, and that to over something measly and inadmissible. -The mother’s honest character is also proved by her drive to still do a good and honest job to prove to the householder that she is a hard worker and not guilty of the accusations. Carol does not intend to do an incompetent job and this augment the admiration and likability of the character.-her urging he son not to be intrusive and vengeful shows her honest character as well.Independence is portrayed by the fact that Victor’s mother is her own boss. Victor might be unhappy that his mother is a cleaner but she does have her own independence and can provide for her family like putting her son through law school or buying a car. OR their huge house which has a verandah. -The fact that they haggle with Victor’s mother over the rate she should be paid is important as it is placing a spotlight on those who belong to the middle and upper classes. -Suggesting that those who are wealthy and of a class higher than Victor’s mother may be mean and blinded by self-importance. Viewing Victor’s mother as being beneath them. This raises our resentment for the employee and our sympathy and respect for Carol Lang. – Suggest that the upper class demean and discriminate the lower class by pretending not to be bothered by the fact that strangers would come and clean their home. Portrays them as less dignified and self-respecting as the upper class would think themselves to be.-The smell of the higher-end neighbourhood highlights the class divide between Victor’s class and the householder-The excessitivity of the homes decorating and furnishing highlights the difference in the classes. They had many different wines, and different condiments which amused the Lang’s.- The great Persian cat makes people think of royalty and high-class due to the relation to it to persian carpets and other novel products from the perian. It act as an emblem of one’s status and is not very practical as the cats just shed everywhere and dirty the place. Thus highlight the difference in class again between the Lang’s and the householder.Injustice is interconnected with other themes in this story, especially class. Neither Victor nor his mother have anybody else to cushion the blows that life might throw at them. Unlike those who own the houses that Victor’s mother cleans. Not only is Winton giving the reader a strong female character but he also manages to highlight the plight of those who are working class. Particularly the obstacles they can face when engaging with the middle or upper classes. Individuals who appear to be driven by a belief that they are better than others. -despite working so hard, “shining with sweat” as she admits that even if she goes to the police about being unfairly discriminated to, she will not attain justice as the one thing she has, “her good name” will be tarnished by “the talk” that will arise from the drama. She’d “lose the rest of (her jobs) and was simply “stuffed” and helpless. All they could do was “grin and bear it” thi highlights the struggle and the plights of the working class.-This is starkly portrayed in the end when despite finding the earring in the home itself she cannot prove her innocence to the employer. As it is her word against the other. This injustice shows class struggle and the unfairity created around the fact that she is not in the same class as the lady. How severe the obstacles are for those who are working class are highlighted by despite the earrings being found and despite Victor’s wishes to report the matter to the police. Victor’s mother knows that she will not be believed by either the police or the woman whose flat she is cleaning. This shows individuals are usually not treated equally due to their socioeconomic status which though unfair is a sad reality. The helplessness heightens pathos of the last scene. Injustice to Carol is done by the measly basis of her termination. The earrings were definitely not worth over five hundred dollars, and it was all “fake outrage” that they had to suffer for. And in the end despite having a flash hope for their innocence it was quickly erased by the sad reality of the class discrimination that they will face against other people, who will doubt their story more than the house holders. -The scene is made far sadder by Victor despite his education, being a lawyer, is powerless to help his mother.	Themes Pride – In her work: “stiff-necked working class pride” //“stickler for order” //“Carol Lang went through a house like a dose of salts” – idiom; fast and efficient // “She earned a reputation” // “She became the domestic benchmark” // “She was proud of her good name” –In her ability to provide for her son: she never asked for the help and never “said a word” should he not accompany her // she never “needed his help” “it’s company” that she wanted. –LAST SCENE: “What about the money? Im worth more.  You’re not taking it?  No.” // “I smiled and shook my head” – he is approving but amused by her honour. Struggle:–SHIFTING PROFESSION: “the study- is too important” // she never asked for the help and never “said a word” should he not accompany her // “When did I ever ask you to come”// “viens stood out on her calf” // “So old”//“Thighs white and dimpled” // “it was a come-down from her previous job” // “all she could get”-ABANDONED BY HUSBAND: “old man shot through” // “pay off his debt” // “old man bolted”   Dignity: -IN HER WORK: “More honour in scrubbing other people’ floors than having strangers scrub your own” // would not chip down her rate and thus “maintained her dignity and her hourly rate” // “she left jobs, she did not lose them” //  “Her loss – she wont find anyone better than me” // “Not even half as good as you. Not a chance” -“Silly, dignified angel” // “Mask of composure” // “Caution” // “Changing lanes with excruciating precision” -Her dignified nature is also highlighted by her “scrubbing and bleaching her tennis shoes every week to keep them looking new” She gives no one any doubt in her worth by displaying herself in a clean and respectable manner at all times. Honesty: -HER CHARACTER: “Discreet and deadly honest” // “only ever sacked the once” // “after years of faultless service” she was “terminated” with “no discussion” // “inspect it like a sergeant-major at barracks inspection” – shows her good and honest work //  –HER CONSCIOUS NOT TO BECOME VENGEFUL: “Toughest four hours she’d ever put in” // “We’ll show her – by “clean(ing) that flat within an inch of it life” // “Wouldn’t give the satisfaction” by using her cleaning materials or “us(ing) her car space”- NOT TO BE INTRUSIVE: “No snooping, not even today” // “don’t be a stickybeak” Independence: “corolla” // “verandah” Class -CLASS GAP:“Bragged about her” // “passed her around like a hot tip” // “took her for granted” // “patronising notes” // “worst payers and the biggest snobs” // Even though she is losing a job she can still easily “fill a dance card in this business” – ironically use uperclasses archaic term to compare to her waitlist of cleaning jobs she has // “Silence is their idea of an apology. It’s how they are brought up.” // “think most highly of themselves” // “worth twice what those silvertails paid her” //  –DIMMING THE IDEA OF STRANGERS CLEANING YOUR HOUSE:“Some kind of sleepwalker” // “blind””incurious “too stupid to notice intimate things about your life” “a a kind of annihilating self-assurance” // “sets of erotica” //  –SMELL OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD:“It “constant brothy stank” of “old money, of posh schools and yacht clubs” this shows privilege.  // Also Law which he studies. “Men who owned the city cause of it” hints at the end when despite compelling evidence the Lang’s are helpless and powerless against combating the householders word and would be more damaged than her should they confront her of her carelessness. Solely because of the class division. This highlights the unjust in the world. -EXCESTIVITY OF THE HOME DECOR:“Huge American thing with two doors and an icemaker” // “both agreed that nobody who cleaned their own place would bother keeping such junk” – regarding the trinklet they harboured // “sulking great Persians”  Injustice: Upper-class think highly of themselves: “hand on her heart” Carol is insulted by the probably “patronising note she was given // putting it away “too quickly” hints at the demeaning words on that note.  DESPITE BEING INNOCENT SHE CANNOT WIN:                         “Shining with sweat” //  “i’d lose the rest of my jobs” // “stuffed” // “we grin and bear it” // “that’s rich” – the earrings worth was a hyperbole to guilt Carol into giving in and lower down her rate // “forgotten about the earring , “wept them off’ and then lost time, “she didn’t even bother to look” otherwise she would have easily recovered them.  // “Didn’t go to the police because they were cheap” // “furious smile” as this recovering of the earring Still does not prove her innocence // CLASS DIVIDE: “All she has to say is that she made me guilty enough to give them back” // “You can’t fight these people back” again portrays class struggle and arouses unjustness // “perhaps their real value was sentimental” “I heard her blow her nose. I was powerless to defend her. It was the lowest feeling.”
Relationship betweenVictor and CarolVictor and HouseholderCarol and Householder	Victor and Carol:Carol loves for her on dearly and does a lot to support him by working as a housecleaner. She doesn’t want to burden him with her struggles thus never asks him to join her to help on her work, tries not to let him see her cry under the lemon tree, only ever asks for his company. Tries to be a good role model for him and not appear weak or struggling.Have conflicting morals and see things differently. Victor is very emotionally charged and as a law student sees things black and white. Unlike Carol whom wants to go back and clean the lady’ housen properly to show what she is missing out on. Victor insist nonetheless that they ought to just give it a “light over”.  Victor and Householder:Victor unlike his mother is vindictive and vengeful. He feels annoyed and angry for the ill treatment of his mother as portrayed by his disruptive and explosive dialogue in the beginning of the short. How annoyed Victor actually is noticeable by the fact that he puts the earrings in the catbox. Though Victor would like to see his mother do something else rather than cleaning houses he still nonetheless takes great pride in his mother’s dignity and work. He does not like the employer was so crass and rude about her dismissal especially considering that she is innocent. This also highlights the immense respect, love and loyalty between the mother and son.He is usually very resilient and doesn’t “cut corners.” Thus his negligence to do the whole work highlights his resentment to the householder	Victor and Carol: – “lecture” // “little boy who needed his neck scrubbed” // “too quickly” hid the note so as not to burden him with her sadness and/or hurt. -It is unusual for them to fight thus this highlights the severity and the offense of the issue- “We argued” “all week.” It was awful” // “fear of driving each other away” they “kept the peace at all costs” but “now could not stop bickering” // “they were still at it”// Victor did a “chassis-bending slam” to the car door to show his disapproval. // “muttered” sarcastically “Go, Mum” Victor and Householder-“They took her for granted” // “It’s outrageous” // “It was unfair, ludicrous, impossible” /// “Chassis-bending slam” // “I felt sick for her” he can’t digest the injustice at play. // “it’s demeaning” “demeaning” – repetition in an emotive voice emphasizes his disapproval and opposition-He loves her thus “felt sick for her” considering how powerless they were, they were being insulted by being brought back again, yet they had to cause of the money. –CATBOX: “snatched them from the quilt” and “chucked them into the cat tray” // “Let her find them there if she cared to look” – he is mocking the fact that she didn’t look very well the first time.-”tipped some litter in and left it at that” // “clawed through her desk” to find something he could validate his malicious version of the householder. //
TechniquesFirst person narrationThe Earrings Glorification in the last few lines	Narrated in the first person to heighten the pathos of the reader as they more easily place themselves in the situation. The earrings symbolize the reason for Carol losing her job. It was not a valid reason just like worth of the earrings was exaggerated. This serves to magnify the readers resentment for the householder and making the end even more satisfying as despite Carol’s worth being undermined she and her son walk out with their head held high and proud.The angelic, glorified description of the mothers silhouette leave readers with the last image of Carol Lang being breathtaking, pure, dignified, beautiful and righteous. This gives the story a satisfied ending despite the original conflict remaining unresolved.	–“In my palm the earrings weighed nothing”// “maybe their true value was sentimental” // “they are cheap” “Stood silhouetted” // “very light of day pouring out through her limbs” // “had my breath back”